COLTS NECK – A lawsuit that was filed against Colts Neck by its police chief, Kevin Sauter, has been settled. The lawsuit stemmed from an unpaid suspension Sauter was required to serve in 2016.
Municipal officials said the terms of the settlement between the two parties are subject to a non-disclosure clause. Officials said Sauter went on paid leave on Nov. 1. He will remain on paid leave through Dec. 31 and retire that day, concluding more than three decades of service with the Colts Neck Police Department.
Sauter took legal action against the township in state Superior Court, Freehold, in regard to a five-day unpaid suspension he served from Aug. 29 through Sept. 2, 2016. The legal action was filed on Sept. 1, 2016.
The suspension, which was ordered by the Township Committee, was related to Sauter’s attendance at a conference that was organized by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and held in Chicago from Oct. 23-28, 2015.
Following Sauter’s trip to Chicago, municipal officials charged him with failure to seek the proper prior written approval from the Township Committee; failure to use vacation time during his attendance at the conference; and having an on-duty police officer who was driving a police vehicle pick him up at Newark Liberty International Airport upon his return to New Jersey.
A disciplinary hearing for Sauter was held on April 28, 2016. At Sauter’s request, the hearing was held in public. Retired state Superior Court Judge Robert O’Hagan was retained by municipal officials to conduct the hearing and issue an opinion on the matter. Sauter’s unpaid suspension followed several months later.
In his legal action against Colts Neck, Sauter alleged, among other counts, that municipal officials “did not have just cause to charge him and thereafter suspend him for five days” and that the township “unduly and prejudicially delayed the imposition of disciplinary charges against Sauter.”
Asked for comment on the settlement, Township Attorney Meghan Bennett Clark said, “Kevin Sauter has been an employee of the township for over 34 years and is retiring from his position as the township’s chief of police, in good standing, after an honorable career. The township appreciates Mr. Sauter’s years of service to this community and wishes him well in his future endeavors.”
Attorney Charles Sciarra, who represented Sauter in the legal action, said, “It has been an extreme pleasure for Kevin Sauter to serve Colts Neck as the township’s chief of police and he looks forward to moving on to the next chapter of his life.”